How alcohol can keep you stuck
Why don’t you drink socially?” Jimmy asked the Wealthy Gardener, point-blank. “You do own a vineyard and winery.”
“We all choose our ways,” said the Wealthy Gardener, “and to me, alcohol is a mistress who tempts with fleeting pleasures. But her pleasures are costly since they come at the loss of my sharpest awareness.”
“I’m only talking about responsible social drinking,” Jimmy continued. “I don’t think a drink alters much, but something always keeps me from doing it.”
The Wealthy Gardener leaned back. “Have I ever told you the parable of stupefied smiles?”
Jimmy laughed out loud. “Nope.”
“There once was a king who ruled an oppressed population,” said the Wealthy Gardener. “The king stayed in power not by force, but through an economic system that kept the people under his control.
“The plan was simple. To survive in this oppressive system, the people had to stay productive during their waking hours so they could afford food, shelter, and other life essentials. And the king, eager to prevent a public uprising against this system of wage slavery, made sure there was a flow of cheap wine through the kingdom to keep them subdued in their free hours.”
Jimmy sat in silence, listening to the story.
“The temporary escape through alcohol,” continued the Wealthy Gardener, “kept his subjects tolerant of their intolerable conditions. They performed mindless work accepted low wages, and put up with hard lives without rebelling. But they found pleasure in a medicine that induced many stupefied smiles.”
Jimmy sighed and rubbed his forehead. “And the moral is to never use alcohol?”
“The clever king knew that whatever takes the edge off also diminishes the will to revolt,” responded the Wealthy Gardener. “The moral of the story is to face your problems and use your fullest potential to stage a rebellion. Be the exception in an oppressed population by creating a lifestyle of prosperity for which there is no need to escape.”
Jimmy sighed again. “But what about a social drink at a party?”
“It’s not a question of right or wrong. Drinking may be okay for people who are settled with their life conditions,” said the Wealthy Gardener, “but it’s a poor strategy for those who are striving to shape their conditions. We want our edge for better or worse.”
“So it’s about choosing power over pleasure?”
“I can only speak for myself, and I am all for pleasure in life,” said the Wealthy Gardener. “But I am against drugged pleasure. I want my fullest senses, and I want authentic pleasure. And I want my edge, especially when I’m unhappy with my circumstances.”
Jimmy considered his next words. “Okay, but some heavy drinkers can be extremely wealthy. And alcohol doesn’t seem to hurt them financially.”
“And it is a testimony to the things they do right in their days, not to the things they do wrong in their free time,” said the Wealthy Gardener.
“What stressor does a wealthy person drink to escape? And why aren’t they content without a drug? Alcohol is never the answer to any problem. It only makes us forget the questions.”
– Excerpt from The Wealthy Gardener
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